Many ovarian tumors contain mesothelin. Researchers wanted to test three types of CAR molecules programmed to attack this particular protein. They repeatedly exposed ovarian cancer cells to CAR T cells in test tubes and conducted several experiments in mice. All three types of CAR T cells significantly prolonged the lives of the mice with cancer compared to those in the control group. Mice that were injected with T cells expressing this particular molecule saw a reduction in tumor size and lived even longer than the others. Several of the mice were even cured. The researchers hope that this discovery will pave the way for a clinical study. Their goal is to predict the optimal conditions for producing CAR T cells that can infiltrate and attack the tumor and survive in the bodies of women with ovarian cancer.
